


Between Present and Past

by jackabelle73



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-12 11:02:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9068803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackabelle73/pseuds/jackabelle73
Summary: Set during the episode "Manhattan." Belle didn’t lose her memories by falling over the town line. She goes to NYC with Gold and Emma instead of Henry.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [belizafryler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/belizafryler/gifts).



> I asked for a prompt from beliza-fryler on Tumblr (kindleheartzyou here) and she answered: Rumbelle AU, meeting Bae.

It took some time for Belle to find the address Emma had told her on the phone. She had to ask for directions several times, even though it wasn’t that far away. But everything about this place–this city, Emma had called it–was so overwhelming. People rushed by as if the Evil Queen herself was after them, and the ones who directed her to the bar had had to shout over the constant din of automobiles on the road. Belle had never seen more than a few cars at a time on the streets of Storybrooke, and she’d thought that was a lot!

Stopping at an intersection to wait for the sign to tell her it was safe to cross, because Emma had been very clear about the dangers of not waiting for the sign, Belle tapped her foot with impatience. She needed to get there, and convince Baelfire to come back with her, and talk to Rumple. It had taken every ounce of persuasion that she possessed over Rumplestiltskin, to convince him to stay behind. Emma had been very emphatic on the phone that Bae was not ready to speak to his father, but she hoped that Belle might be able to change his mind. 

After twenty minutes of walking, she found the bar and to her relief, immediately saw Emma sitting at the counter with a man who could only be Baelfire. Her first impression was that he was taller and bigger than his father. Perhaps he took after his mother in that regard? Belle pushed down the surge of jealousy at the thought of Rumplestiltskin’s wife. Right now, she needed to focus on Bae. 

Emma looked over her shoulder, standing up when she saw Belle. “Glad you found us. Neal–” she addressed the man next to her. “This is Belle….your dad’s girlfriend.” 

Brown eyes studied her; they immediately reminded her of Rumple’s eyes. Capable of warmth, but immediately assessing her, evaluating how she might fit into this situation. He stuck out a hand. 

“Hi, Belle.” 

She shook his hand, wanting so much to give him a hug. This was Rumple’s son! The child he’d lost, the one he’d spent centuries trying to find. No longer a child, but still Rumple’s son. She could see his father in him, now that she studied his face. 

“Are you…Baelfire?” she asked. She glanced at Emma. She’d called him by a different name. 

He dropped her hand, instead thrusting both hands in his jacket pockets. “I haven’t gone by that name in decades. I call myself Neal now.” 

“Neal,” she repeated. “I’ll try to remember. Your father believes names are important; you must have had a reason for choosing yours.” 

“Nah,” he shrugged. “Just picked something that wouldn’t stand out. I was trying to blend in, to disappear.” 

Belle nodded, and looked at Emma. She wasn’t quite sure what the Storybrooke sheriff expected her to do. 

“He wouldn’t come back with me to talk to his dad, and all my arguments were getting nowhere fast,” Emma explained in response to her look. 

“Yeah, and hers won’t either. This is a waste of time, Emma.” 

“You promised you’d listen to her. Five minutes, Neal. You owe me that much. For eighteen months in prison, you owe me that much.” Belle started to ask what Emma meant, because it sounded like they’d met before. But Emma’s phone rang and she pulled it out. “It’s my mom. I need to let her know I’m okay, that the Dark One didn’t incinerate me or anything. I’ll be right outside.” She gave Neal a pointed look and walked away, already talking on the phone. 

Neal slumped back onto his stool. “You might as well sit, I guess.” He waved to the stool Emma had vacated. 

Belle pulled herself up, crossing her legs and smoothing her skirt. “What did Emma mean, about prison? Have you two met before?” 

“Yeah. Ages ago. Long story. Like most things in my life.” He toyed with his beer mug without drinking, running his fingers through the condensation on the glass before putting his hands together to rub both thumbs around each other restlessly. Belle smiled at the sight. Rumple tended to fidget with his hands when he was nervous too. “You’re younger than I expected,” he said, drawing her attention away from his hands. “And prettier. And you look way too innocent to be involved with the Dark One. How’d my dad end up dating someone like you?” 

Belle smiled. It wasn’t hard to see that Bae–Neal, she corrected herself–was trying to distract her, but she’d go with it. What better way to remind Neal that his father was more than the Dark One, than to tell him how Rumple fell in love? 

“I wouldn’t say we ever dated, really,” she began. “Well, I suppose since I found him again in Storybrooke, after the curse broke–do you know about the curse?” She waited for his nod before continuing. “After the curse broke, and I got my memories back and we found each other again….we were together for a little while, but we had an argument and I left him.” 

“Now there’s what I would expect. Dad never did know how to maintain a relationship.” He chuckled, but there was no humor in it.

“He’s learning now,” Belle said softly, risking a hand on top of his, squeezing once before letting go. Neal allowed it, but didn’t look comfortable. “We argued, because he was keeping secrets from me. He finally told me why he was keeping secrets. They were all about you.” Neal looked up at that, his brow furrowed. “About his efforts to find you. After he told me the truth, I gave him another chance. And since then, I suppose you could say we’ve been dating, as this world defines it. Before that though, back in our land, we didn’t have what you’d call a _normal_ courtship.” She deliberately brought the topic back to herself and Rumplestiltskin, not wanting to pressure Neal about his own relationship with him. 

“How so?” Neal asked. Still trying to direct the topic away from himself. He toyed with a chain and some sort of pendant on the bar, not looking at her. 

“We met when he saved my village from an ogre attack,” Belle explained. 

“Whoa, hold on….my dad never did anything for free, after he became the Dark One. I doubt that’s changed. What was his price?” 

“He wanted me to work for him at his castle.” A series of emotions ran across Neal’s face, from shock to dismay to fright as he stared at Belle. “And I agreed,” she specified quickly. “My father refused the deal, but I agreed to it.” Why was Neal looking at her that way?

“And what kind of…. _work_ did you do for him?” His voice was low and intense, his eyes narrowed on her as he leaned forward. 

“I cleaned the castle,” she answered, still confused by the change in his demeanor. “Prepared his afternoon tea. Took him straw when he was spinning at the wheel.” 

“That’s it? He didn’t… _use_ you? Take advantage of you?” 

“No!” Belle gasped, at last understanding what he was thinking. “Nothing like that! He would never!” 

“Never’s a long time.” He sat back on his stool, regarding her steadily. “And I’ve seen him do a lot of horrible things. Stuff that I never would’ve thought he’d do, before he became the Dark One.” 

“Not that,” Belle told him. “He never forced me, he didn’t even pursue me. I pursued him. And he let me go….and I went back. Of my own free well,” she emphasized to him. She leaned forward, grasping his hand again and this time, she didn’t let go. “Neal…I’m not just your father’s girlfriend. I’m his True Love, and he’s mine.” 

He scoffed. “Doesn’t exist.” 

She smiled. “Then explain why, the first time we kissed, his Dark One curse started to break.” 

He stared at her. “For real? You broke his curse?” 

“No,” she admitted. “His curse started to break, but he stopped it.” 

“Of _course_ he did.” Neal threw up his hands. “Why give up the curse? Why give up all that power? Doesn’t sound like he’s changed a bit.” 

“He needed the power for _you_!” Belle exclaimed, desperate to make him understand. “To find you! Losing you was the biggest regret of his life, and he’s dedicated every moment since to finding you. Stopping our True Love’s Kiss, and orchestrating the curse, waiting for twenty-eight years in Storybrooke for the curse there to be broken, figuring out a way to cross the town line without losing his memories….all of it was for you. He’s here, now, in a land without magic, where he’s nothing more than a mortal human man with a limp, to find you.” For a moment, he seemed to be wavering, and she pressed her point. “He’s waiting just down the street, at your building. He’s waited centuries for this, Bae. Please, come back with me. Just _talk_ to him.” 

“It’s Neal,” he reminded her, his expression shutting down again. He slid off his stool, pulling out his wallet and fishing out some bills which he tossed on the bar. “Look, Belle….you seem nice and I have no idea what you see in my dad, but if you’re with him of your own free will….” 

“I am,” she answered, in a tone that left no doubt. Over his shoulder, she saw Emma come back in and breathed a sigh of relief. She knew Neal long ago, maybe she could help.

“Then I wish you luck in your relationship with him, but mine ended the moment he let me go, let me fall through a portal to another land, alone. The moment he chose power over me. I’ve been done with him for a very long time, and nothing you’ve said changes anything.” He scooped up the necklace he’d been playing with during their conversation, and turned to go. 

“Neal, wait!” Emma stood between him and the door as Belle slid down off her stool. 

“No. Your five minutes are up,” he told her. “I’m outta here.” He pushed by her, and this time Emma let him pass. 

“Emma! How could you let him go?” Belle asked. The door swung closed behind Neal and she could feel Rumple’s only chance slipping away. To be so close, after he’d tried for so long! 

“We can’t force him to talk to his father, Belle. I’m sorry. We tried.” 

“I’m not giving up,” she informed her as she followed Neal out the door. Looking both ways, she could see his retreating back, already halfway to the next crossing. “Neal!” she called. 

He turned, but continued walking backwards, never halting his progress away from her as he answered, “Give it up, Belle.” 

No. She wouldn’t. Belle French was nothing if not stubborn, and she’d promised Rumplestiltskin that she would do everything she could to bring his son back to him. Surely there was something else she could try? She started to run after him in her decidedly not-for-running shoes, hearing Emma call out behind her. 

“Neal, wait!” He ignored her shout, and she was still several feet away from him when her heel caught in a crack in the sidewalk and she stumbled forward, crying out as she caught herself on her hands. She turned awkwardly over to sit on the sidewalk and determine the damage.

“Belle! Are you okay?” Emma knelt beside her, picking up her foot to inspect her ankle. It felt like she’d twisted it when she fell, and her hands were scraped from the rough cement. 

“I think so,” she said, dejected. She was sure that Neal was long gone by now, till she heard his voice behind her. 

“Is she alright?” Neal crouched down as a stroller with a baby, being pushed by a woman in exercise clothes, sped past them, only inches away from where Belle had fallen. “Hey, watch it, lady!” Neal yelled after her, taking Belle’s hands to inspect them.

“Mostly, yeah,” Emma answered for her. Belle was too busy hissing through her teeth as Emma turned her ankle gently, this way and that, assessing for injury. Gods, that hurt. She could already see it swelling. 

“Emma, talk to him,” she said through gritted teeth. “We have another chance now, you knew him years ago, talk to him!” 

“I don’t think so,” Neal said, standing and brushing his hands off. “You’ve only got minor injuries, Emma can take care of you, and at least now I know neither of you will be running after me. Tell my dad I _didn’t_ say hello.” He backed away slowly, as though reluctant to take his eyes off them and Belle knew this was truly her last chance. There was precious little she could do though, sitting on the sidewalk in a strange city and injured.

“Emma!” Belle grabbed her wrist, ignoring the pain on her raw palm. “You know what it’s like to lose a child, Emma. You gave Henry up for adoption eleven years ago, think about how you felt when he found you again. You got a second chance, Emma! Rumple deserves the same. Please, Emma! Go after him!” 

She shook her head. “He already said no, and I’m not leaving you here alone.” 

“But Emma–” 

They both looked up as a shadow fell over them. Neal was staring at Emma, who looked trapped under his intense gaze.

“Emma…” Neal spoke slowly, deliberately.  _“Who’s Henry?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a drabble....and 2,242 words later, I've proven once again that I'm genetically incapable of writing drabbles.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't mean for this to be a multi-chapter fic, but here we are anyway. Fair warning that I don't really know where I'm going with this; I'm just gonna pants it. I'm open to prompts for this story, if anyone has any.

It started with their facial expressions…Neal’s incredulous and angry, and Emma’s defensive, guilty, leading quickly to anger. Belle watched them through the window from her chair inside the bar. Emma and Neal had helped her back there, and convinced her to sit with her shoes off and her swollen left ankle propped on another chair. Emma had asked for an ice pack from the bartender and placed it on Belle’s ankle before following Neal outside. Belle couldn’t hear what the pair was saying to each other, but it was easy enough to see the escalation of their discussion from their body language.

Belle sighed, pulling her phone from her purse. She really couldn’t put off calling Rumple any longer. He had to be frantic by now and to be honest, she was surprised he hadn’t shown up already. Though she supposed the only reason why he hadn’t, was the lack of magic. In Storybrooke he’d have tracked her and poofed to her side within five minutes.

He answered before the first ring even finished chiming in her ear.

“Belle! Where are you? Is Bae there?”

“He’s here,” she assured him quickly. “He’s right outside, talking to Emma. I think you need to get here, Rumple.”

“Outside where? Give me the address.”

“Oh, it’s…umm. Let me find it.” She searched the outside pocket of her purse where she’d stashed the slip of paper.

“I’m getting in a cab right now, and heading in the direction you took when you left.”

“What’s a cab?” she asked, pulling the paper out. From the corner of her eye, she caught the bartender’s curious glance.

“It’s a car, sweetheart. A car for hire. I’m paying the driver to take me to you.” She heard a car door slam. “Now please, the address.”

“Right.” She read it off to him, and heard him relay it to someone else.

“Thank you, Belle. I’ll be there in a few minutes, just don’t let Bae leave.”

From the look of things, Bae wasn’t thinking of leaving. He was too busy shouting at Emma, and she was shouting right back. Passers-by were giving them a wide berth.

“What happened when you found Bae?” Rumple asked. “Tell me everything.”

“Rumple, I need you to slow down, and listen to me for a moment. I think that Bae is going to come back to Storybrooke with us, but not for the reason you might think. There’s been a…complication.” She winced as she said it, still mortified that she’d been the reason the _complication_ was revealed.

It had been clear from Emma’s reaction that she’d never meant to tell Neal about Henry, and it only took seconds for Belle to put it together. She didn’t know everything that had passed between the two of them twelve years ago, what factors had led to Emma giving Henry up for adoption and Neal never knowing that he had a son. But it was a pretty safe bet that Emma’s reasons had been highly personal, and Belle felt bad that she’d exposed the other woman’s secret against her will.

But at the same time…Neal had a son, which meant that Rumple had a grandson. In spite of the complicated situation which could still lead any number of ways, she couldn’t help the hopeful joy that was welling up in her on Rumple’s behalf. He was a man who loved his family beyond all reasonable mortal limits, who would do anything for those he loved. Yet he’d gone centuries with no family and no one to love him. But now, since the curse broke, she’d returned to him. Today he had the knowledge that his beloved son was alive and well, and soon he would know about his grandson as well. Through Henry he’d be related to Emma, the Charmings, and even Regina. Well, okay, not all the relations would welcome him with open arms, but at least he wouldn’t be alone anymore.

“Belle? What kind of complication?” Rumple asked urgently, and Belle realized that it wasn’t the first time he’d asked. She hesitated, wondering if it was better to warn Rumple before he arrived, or let Bae and Emma break the news.

Outside, Neal threw up his hands and turned away from Emma, taking several angry steps before turning back to her and saying something else. Neither of them looked ready to offer rational explanations to anyone.

“Rumple…did you know that Bae and Emma knew each other, years ago?” The shocked silence at the other end told her the answer.

“When?”

“Oh…I’d say about nine months before Henry was born.” This time he stayed quiet so long that only the honking of car horns that she could hear through the connection, let her know that he hadn’t hung up. “Rumple, are you still there?”

“Bae is…Henry’s father.” The words came out slowly, as though he were testing how it felt to say them.

“Yes. Emma obviously never meant to tell him, and he’s pretty angry with her right now. But he’s already said that he wants to meet Henry. So hopefully, he’ll come back to Storybrooke with us.”

“For Henry.” His flat tone said that he’d seen right through her attempt to emphasize the positive. “So he wants nothing to do with me.”

“Rumple…he’s still hurting from what happened between you all those years ago. And he’s in shock. He had no idea you were here, in this land. No idea you were looking for him. And he certainly didn’t expect for his ex-girlfriend to show up on your behalf and then find out that he has an eleven-year-old son he never knew about. Try to be patient with him, Rumple. Please.”

“Alright,” he answered after a long moment. “I’ll try. I’m almost there, are you–” He cut himself off and even over the phone she could hear his gasp. “I can see him. That’s him, outside with Emma. Oh, Belle…it’s him.”

The line went dead before a yellow car pulled up outside and she could see Rumple getting out of the back seat, gaining his feet awkwardly with the help of his cane but never taking his eyes off his son.

Neal froze where he stood, and Emma took a step back, giving the father and son space. Belle eased her injured foot off the chair and used the table to support her weight as she stood, grimacing as soon as her left foot touched the floor, even without weight on it. Using chairs and tables to help her balance, she made her way to the door and hobbled outside in her stocking feet, her eyes fixed on Rumple’s face and the extraordinary range of emotions on display there. Hope, fear, happiness, sorrow, regret…Belle wanted to stand by him and offer her support. Instead she stayed in the bar’s entry where she could cling to the door and balance on one foot.

Outside, the city assaulted her senses again with the exhaust fumes from the hundreds of cars on the street, every one of which seemed to be honking at the others. People rushed by on the sidewalk where their little group stood like a still life, but the pedestrians seemed to instinctively know not to walk between Rumple and Bae, instead altering course to go around them. The moment stretched between the two men, neither of them taking the initiative to speak first. Belle looked back and forth between the two of them, wondering how to break the tension.

“Hey, anybody gonna pay me?” The man in the yellow car was looking irate. Emma gave a brief look at Rumple, still in shock and paying no attention to the man behind him. She walked over to the cab, pulling her wallet out.

“Bae. Is it really you?” Rumple had yet to look away from his son.

“Yeah. I guess I’ve changed a little since the last time you saw me, huh?” Neal shrugged and leaned back against the building, arms crossed and trying to affect an attitude of nonchalance.

Rumple nodded, at a rare loss for words.

“You traded in the scales for a three-piece suit,” Bae observed. “Is that…my swaddling blanket?”

Rumple looked down, fingering the old piece of fabric he was wearing as a shawl. “Yes. I kept it, Bae. All these years, and even through the curse that brought me to this land. It’s my most prized possession, my talisman. It was all I had left of you, and I charmed it to allow me to keep my memories outside Storybrooke. So I could find you, finally.”

He took a limping step toward his son, who held up a hand and shook his head. Rumple stopped, and Belle’s heart ached for him.

“No. You don’t get to touch me,” Neal said flatly. “You shouldn’t even get to _talk_ to me.”

“But…I found you, Bae.”

Emma shifted from foot to foot behind Rumple. Belle met Emma’s eyes, and saw that she was no more comfortable with this than anyone else.

“Yeah? That’s real touching. Doesn’t change what you did to me. You abandoned me, dropped me through a portal and left me all alone. And you have no idea, none, what I’ve been through!” He shouted that last, causing a couple who passed by to eye him curiously. He lowered his voice to add, “Coming after me centuries later…doesn’t change anything.”

Belle watched as Rumple’s face fell, saw him acknowledge the truth of what Bae said.

“I’m sorry, Bae. I never meant for it to happen; I just panicked. I’ve been looking for you all these years, so I could apologize, and tell you that I love you, that I never stopped loving you.”

Bae snorted his disbelief. “Just words. You always were good with words, but they’re not enough anymore. I was hoping I’d get away before you showed up, so I wouldn’t have to deal with you at all. But that one–” He waved at Emma, still standing at the curb after the cab pulled away. “She dropped a truth bomb on me, and now I find out that I’ve got a son. And nothing, in this realm or any other, will keep me from meeting my son now that I know about him. I figured she would call you,” he jerked his head toward Belle. “But not even having to deal with you, will keep me from getting to Henry. I’m not going to abandon _my_ son.”

Rumple glanced toward Belle when Bae pointed to her, for the first time acknowledging her, and saw the way she leaned on the door.

“What happened to you?” He scanned down to her feet, still with no shoes, and how she held one foot off the ground.

“I tripped, that’s all.” Belle tried to put some weight on it, but snatched her foot back up again.

Emma walked past Rumple and Bae to her side, offering support. “It looks like a bad sprain. She should see a doctor. Do you know one close by?” She directed the question at Bae in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

“There’s no need for that,” Rumple said. “Once we get back to Storybrooke, I can heal it. We should get back to the rental car, so we can get underway. It’ll take a few hours, do you think you can wait that long, Belle?”

She flinched at the idea of waiting several more hours for the pain in her ankle to go away, even as Bae spoke up.

“Uh, no. I’m not getting in a car with you. Not putting myself in a position where I have to talk to you for hours on end. I washed my hands of you years ago, and you showing up, out of the blue like this and saying you’re sorry? Doesn’t prove anything.”

“It proves that I care, doesn’t it?” Rumple asked. “Bae, please. What do I have to do to gain your forgiveness?”

He shrugged. “Don’t think you can. But if you want to prove your sincerity, that would be a start.”

“Yes. Tell me what you want me to do,” he offered, and Belle breathed a sigh of relief. She’d been so afraid that he would refuse to compromise.  

“I want you to keep our deal. The one you broke when I was a kid. You promised you’d go with me to a Land Without Magic, that you’d give up magic forever to prove your love for me.”

“Bae, I don’t understand.” Both hands on his cane, Rumple gave that little shrug of his. But he was listening. “That was centuries ago, what do you want me to do now?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Bae spread his hands, indicating the city around them. “We’re here now, in a Land Without Magic. If you want to prove yourself to me, you’re gonna stay here, while I go to Storybrooke to meet my son.” He smiled at his father, and Belle saw another similarity between father and son, that triumphant glint in the eye when they knew they were in a position of power over their petitioner and held all the cards. Bae pointed at Rumple with a satisfied smirk. “I want you to keep your promise, finally. I want you to give up magic.”


	3. Chapter 3

Rumplestiltskin stared at his son, who only smirked back at him, having gained the upper hand at long last. Bae had clearly inherited more than his brown eyes from his father. He also knew when to press his advantage.

“You can’t….you can’t be serious, Bae.” Rumple finally regained his voice. “I can’t give up my powers, I need them to protect the people I love! You, and Belle…and I’ll protect Henry too.”

“You’re gonna protect me? Really? Like you protected me when I was fourteen?”

“Yes. Have you forgotten that I saved you from having to serve in the Ogres’ War? And then I stopped the war, Bae. I brought all the children home. I did that, with my powers!”

Neal huffed with a roll of his eyes, and didn’t answer at first, while the city continued on its noisy way around them and Belle and Emma stayed silent. They weren’t a part of this family drama, not right now. Grudges and heartaches that had started in the Enchanted Forest long before either of them were born, were finally being dealt with on a New York City sidewalk.

“Yeah, you did.” Neal finally conceded. “And you were okay at first. But then…you started to change. And you became the man who terrorized the entire village, till I couldn’t even leave our home for fear someone would use me to retaliate against _you_. And then…you abandoned me. You didn’t keep me safe.” His voice cracked and he turned, bracing his hands against the wall and turning his face away from them.

“I’m sorry, Bae. But I want to now. I’ll do better by you.”

Neal shook his head, still facing the wall. “Nah. You’re not gonna do anything by me, good or bad. You’re gonna stay the hell away from me. I’m going to Storybrooke with Emma, to meet my son. You–” he turned and pointed at him— “are going to stay here, in a land without magic where you have no powers, and survive alone. Just like I did.”

“If I do that, will you come back, Bae? After you’ve met Henry, will you come back and talk to me, give me another chance?”

“Are you seriously trying to make a deal with me right now?” Neal gave a disbelieving laugh. “I’m not promising anything. Not making any deals. Not till you make good on the last deal we had.”

Rumple looked at his son for a long moment, as if waiting, hoping that Bae would change his mind, but got only a stony silence in return.

“Rumplestiltskin never breaks a deal,” he said finally. “If this is the only way I can fulfill our bargain, then so be it. I’ll stay.”

“Then I’ll stay with you,” Belle announced. She tried to take a step toward him, but staggered sideways as her ankle refused to take her weight. She was saved from falling only by Emma catching her.

“You know what? Enough of your squabbling,” Emma said to both of them as she slid an arm around Belle’s waist to support her. “You can deal with your family trauma later.”

“Not enough time in the world to deal with this,” Neal muttered.

Rumple approached Belle, gripping his cane tightly in the one hand to brace his weight against and using the other to hold her hand, helping her balance. She smiled at him gratefully, but was saddened to see the look of defeat in his eyes.

“Right now, Belle needs a doctor. And you–” Emma glared at Neal— “are going to tell us the best place to go. We can’t go to an ER because she doesn’t have ID for this world.”

“What, did you lose your fake ID machine?” Neal scoffed.

“There wasn’t time!” Emma was clearly at the end of her rope with all the drama. “It was sort of a last-minute trip. Now, are you going to help or not? I have a feeling you know a doctor who won’t ask too many questions. You can’t find Storybrooke without me, and I’m not leaving the city till Belle sees a doctor, so let’s get moving. Doctor, Neal. Now.”

He hesitated, clearly unhappy with the ultimatum, but looked at the way Belle was holding her foot up and obviously in pain, and threw his hands up. “Fine! We’ll have to go back to my apartment to get the number. I’ll get us a couple cabs.” Still fuming, he walked to the street and raised his arm.

Rumple looked down at her foot, his thumb rubbing her wrist. “That looks painful, Belle. I wish I could heal you. I hate being without magic. Where are your shoes?”

“Oh…” She glanced back through the doorway, realizing for the first time. “I left them inside. My purse too.”

“You left your purse sitting in a bar unattended?” Emma yelped.  “Gold, go get her stuff, if it’s even still there. I’ve got her.” She gave him a pointed look till he walked inside the bar, then asked Belle, “Why would you leave your stuff like that?”

“I do it all the time at Granny’s,” Belle shrugged.

Emma rolled her eyes. “Belle, in Storybrooke you could leave a million dollars in cash unattended and no one would dare touch it because everyone knows who you’re dating. But no one in this world has heard of the Dark One, and Rumplestiltskin is just a fairy tale. His reputation won’t protect you here.”

“I wish I’d never heard of the Dark One,” Neal muttered, rejoining them. “Would have made my life a lot less complicated.” He thumbed over his shoulder. “I got us two cabs.”

“Alright, you ready Belle? I’m going to help you to the car. Just lean on me.” Emma tightened her grip and Belle used her for balance as she tried to put weight on the injured ankle, just for a second, just long enough to transfer her weight to the healthy foot…and cried out at even that brief pressure.

“Hold on, let me help,” Neal offered. He held out his hands, indicating what he wanted to do. “If that’s alright?” he asked Belle.

She bit her lip, conceding that she’d never make it the short distance to the waiting cars without considerable pain, and nodded. Bae bent down and scooped her up with one arm under her knees and the other behind her back, lifting her easily and carrying her the short distance to the waiting cab. Emma opened the back door and Neal set her down on the seat. Belle caught his hand as he withdrew from the car.

“Thank you, Neal.” She squeezed his hand once before letting go. He only nodded in acknowledgement before telling the driver his address through the partition that separated front and back seats…why was there a divider?

She could see Rumple approaching, her shoes and purse in hand, and slid across the seat to let him get in beside her. Neal stepped back when his father got close.

“Bae, I just–”

“I don’t want your words,” he told him. “I’ll see you to a doctor, because she seems like a good person and doesn’t deserve to be dumped in New York injured and in pain for your crimes. Then we’re done here and I’m going to Storybrooke.”

Neal walked away, and Belle watched through the windows as he joined Emma at the other car and it pulled into traffic.

“Hey, buddy…you gettin’ in or not?” The driver had rolled down his window to speak to Rumple, still standing on the sidewalk and making no move to get in.

Belle leaned across the seat, hissing at the sharp shooting pain that resulted from even letting her foot brush against the floor, and put her hand on top of Rumple’s where he gripped his cane.

“Rumple…come on. It’s time to go.” He got in, to a ‘finally’ from the driver who started driving even before the door was fully closed. Belle slid over to be closer to Rumple, arm around him to offer comfort. “Hey…” she said softly, mindful of the driver. “Talk to me.”

His face was impassive, but she knew that look too well. It was when he felt too much that he tried hardest to conceal his emotions. He held himself stiffly, hands clasped tight over his cane, staring straight ahead.

“Rumple…” she tried again. “You found him. You found Bae, after all these years.”

“And he wants nothing to do with me.”

“I know it wasn’t the reunion you were hoping for. But Rumple…you found him, and he’s alive. He just needs time, that’s all.” He didn’t respond. “You know what happened when I reunited with my father, and I forgave him. It took time, but I forgave him.”

“My fear…is that Bae doesn’t have your capacity for forgiveness. And that I don’t deserve to be forgiven.”

“Don’t say that…you do.”

He didn’t answer her, and his body was still rigid under her touch. With a sigh, Belle leaned into him, resting her head on his arm, hoping her closeness would help.

“You don’t have to stay, you know,” he said after a moment. “Bae’s… _punishment_ is for me. You can go back to Storybrooke with them, back to your job at the library and your new friends in town. My home is yours, you can stay there as long as you want.”

“Rumple… _you_ are my home. I don’t want to stay in that big house by myself. I want to be with you.” She could feel him sigh before he adjusted his position to pull her closer against his side.

“Thank you, Belle. I’d be lost without you.” He pressed a kiss to her hair.

She smiled into his coat. “You know full well that I’ve always wanted to see the world. We can start with New York. And Bae will come back to talk to you. I just know it.”

“As usual, you have more faith than I do.”

They rode in silence for a few moments, and Belle watched the small TV on the back of the seat in front of them. The volume was muted, but scenes that she assumed were all in New York flashed across the screen. The options for things to do and see in the city seemed endless. What would it be like to live here, just her and Rumple? No magic, no complicated history with every person they passed on the street. Just the two of them, together.

The car stopped, pulling in at another street curb. Looking up, Belle realized they were back at Neal’s building already. She sat up to let Rumple get his wallet from his inside pocket. The door opened as he passed money through the slot in the partition, and Emma looked in at them.

“I’m not so sure that Neal wasn’t tempted to lose you in traffic, so I’d hurry if I were you,” she told them. “He’s arguing with the driver, he says he overcharged us.”

“Dealing with two injured ankles here, Miss Swan,” Rumple informed her, as he used his cane to lever himself out of the car. Good to see he had a bit of his snark back.

“Yes, you’re quite the pair.” Emma reached in to offer a hand to Belle. “Neal’s curious about you two, by the way.”

“How so?” Belle asked as she used the door frame to pull herself up on her one good foot and accepted their help.

“I think he’s surprised his dad has a girlfriend, is all. Not as surprised to he was to see you at all,” Emma told Rumple.

She stopped talking as Neal joined them and with a helping hand on either side, Belle managed to make it through the door which Rumple hastily opened for them.

“Why don’t we set you down here.” Neal led the way to a bench in the small entryway and took keys from his pocket. “I’m going up to my apartment to get the number and address we need.”

Belle grimaced as they lowered her onto the bench, but then waved Rumple off with an ‘I’m fine’ look. She could tell he wanted to speak to his son again. He dropped her things into her lap before turning to Neal.

“I’ll go up with you.”

“You’ll do no such thing,” he scoffed, putting his key in the gate. “You know, I’m starting to sound like a broken record, even to myself. You don’t get to see where I live. You don’t get to be a part of my life, understand? You forfeited that right, centuries ago.”

“But what guarantee do I have that you’ll come back?”

“None. Except that I said I’d help you find a doctor. And I keep my word. Unlike some.”

“Bae–”

“I’ll go up with him,” Emma said, and gave Rumple a look. “You two wait here, we’ll be right back.”

Rumple nodded agreement, though Belle could see that he was still reluctant to let Bae out of his sight. After centuries of searching for his son, he was starved for any sort of affirmation from him. Yet Bae hadn’t allowed his father to even touch him, and he wasn’t looking at him either. Right now, all his attention was focused on the lock which seemed to be stuck.

“Neal, I could pick the lock faster than this,” Emma said, impatient. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Damn if I know,” he snapped, attempting to turn the key again. “It worked fine this morning.”

Unable to help with the current problem, Belle turned her shoes over and over in her hands, thinking that if she and Rumple were going to stay in the city, she may have to invest in some more practical footwear.

“Let me see,” Rumple said, leaning between them.

“Oh, you’re an expert on wonky locks now?” Neal stepped back to allow his father to look, though it looked like he did it mostly to avoid contact.

With everyone’s attention focused on the broken lock, Belle was the only one to see him come in the door…a tall man, dressed all in black, and a hook where his left hand should be. She saw his eyes flick to her, and dismiss her as inconsequential, raising his hook in the same moment that she opened her mouth to shout.

“Rumple! Watch out!”

The hook slashed through the air, its arc leading directly to Rumplestiltskin, who turned just in time to see it coming down…and slash through Bae’s coat as he threw himself between Hook and his father. His scream echoed through the lobby as he fell hard, taking Rumple with him, the two of them falling in a heap.

Hook raised his hand again, ready to strike another blow, but this time Emma was ready for him. A well-placed kick to the pirate’s chest knocked him backward, his arms pinwheeling absurdly as he tried to maintain his balance, but crashing at Belle’s feet.

She never made the conscious decision to do it. But she was already holding a very hard and very pointy object in her hand, and without hesitation brought the heel of her shoe down, puncturing Hook’s shoulder. His face contorted in agony and he grabbed at the wound, trying to staunch the blood that was already staining his fingers.

“Bloody hell!” he gasped, trying to roll away from Belle and regain his feet.

“Not so fast, buddy.” Emma stood over him, Rumple’s cane in her hands. She brought the gold handle down on Hook’s head and the pirate went limp.

Belle stared around the room, at the unconscious man at her feet and Rumple cradling Bae’s head in his lap.

“Papa…” Bae moaned.

“I’m here, son.” He cupped his face in his hand, and Bae opened his eyes to look at him.

“Don’t feel right…”

“Nice one, Belle,” Emma commented from her feet. Belle looked down at where she was inspecting Hook’s shoulder wound.

“I owed him that,” she responded, before returning her attention to Rumple.

He was pulling away the layers of Bae’s jacket and shirt to see his injury, and from the look on his face, she knew it wasn’t good. Bae grimaced as his father inspected the wound, and grabbed at his hand.

“More than a cut?” he gasped. Rumple nodded. “What is it? Papa, tell me!”

Rumple brought their joined hands up and kissed Bae’s knuckles. “You have dreamshade poisoning.” He looked across to Belle and Emma. “We need to get him back to Storybrooke. Only magic will save him now.”


	4. Chapter 4

Belle adjusted her position in the seat, trying to find a way to get comfortable. Her ankle throbbed. Every time the car went over a bump in the road, a sharper pain would shoot up her leg. They had hours to go before they could get back to Storybrooke, so she tried to relax.

They were finally out of the city, though it had taken time and effort. Emma had gone outside Neal’s building to wave down a cab, after demanding Rumple’s wallet from him. Belle watched through the glass door as Emma flashed a wad of cash at the driver who stopped, then he came in with her. Between the two of them they managed to help everyone to the car, with Emma grumbling all the while about being the only able-bodied person in the group.

When the cab driver asked what happened to them, looking at Rumple on his cane, Belle unable to put any pressure on her injured ankle, and Neal bleeding through his shirt, Emma reminded him that if he wanted the large payment she’d offered, he was not to ask questions. He shrugged and delivered them to their rental car with no further comment, and went on his way considerably richer.  

It had taken a long time to get out of the city, but they finally broke free of the traffic and were now speeding along the highway.

Belle shifted in her seat again, biting her lip as the pain spasmed.

“Hurts like a bitch, huh?” Emma didn’t take her take her eyes from the road when she asked.

“I don’t think getting shot yesterday hurt this much,” she answered.

“Shot? Yesterday?” the hoarse question came from the back seat, where Neal was slumped against the window.

Belle tried to turn around to answer him, but that jostled her foot.

“Hook,” Emma answered briefly, looking at Neal in the rearview mirror. “He shot her at the town line. He was hoping she’d fall over and lose her memories, but your dad caught her in time.”

“And healed my gunshot wound in seconds.” Belle smiled at Rumple where he sat behind Emma, careful to only turn her head this time. He didn’t notice, focused on Bae as he was.

And as soon as they were back inside the Storybrooke limits, where there was magic, Rumple could heal her ankle as well. And more importantly, cure Bae of the poison that was slowly killing him.

Emma reached into her pocket and pulled out a vibrating phone, glancing at it. “My mom and dad,” she said, handing the phone to Belle. “Open that message and read it to me. I need to drive.”

Belle opened the message and read aloud, her heart beating faster with each word.

“Cora in Storybrooke. Regina working with her. Looking for Gold’s dagger.” She turned to look at Rumple, who looked back at her this time, his jaw set in anger.

“Your dagger? What the hell, Pops? You left your dagger there for just anyone to find?”  

Those were the most words Neal had managed to string together since being stabbed, and the effort it had cost him was obvious in his voice.

“What dagger?” Emma asked.

“None of your concern,” Rumple answered tersely. “And no, Bae, I did not leave it in Storybrooke for Cora to find. It hasn’t left my possession for centuries, do you think I’d start now?”

“What exactly is this dagger? And why are my parents so afraid of Cora finding it?” Emma asked again. “Neal?”

“Controls him,” he answered with a muffled groan.

“Whoever possesses the dagger, controls the Dark One?” she asked, in the tone of someone hoping they were wrong.

Rumple didn’t answer, so Belle did. “Yes. If Cora got the dagger, she could order him to do anything, things he would never do on his own, and he’d have to do it.”

“What the hell, Gold?” She eyed him through the rearview mirror. “You’re telling me the all-powerful Dark One can be controlled with an oversized letter opener?”

“It’s considerably more than a letter opener, Miss Swan. And I’ve told you before…all magic comes with a price.”

“Is this dagger the reason you didn’t want to fly?” Silence. “Answer me!” she demanded.

“Yes. I originally planned to fly, but Belle got excited about flying in a plane for the first time and was reading everything she could about it. She realized that I couldn’t take the dagger on board with me.”

“Saved your ass,” Neal mumbled. “Sure it’s safe?”

“Positive,” he answered shortly. He raised his brows at Belle, and she nodded. “Cora won’t be able to find it in Storybrooke. And I’ll take care of her when we get back.”

Emma eyed Belle as she turned around again. “When we get back, as soon as we’re inside the town line you need to give that dagger back to him. Cora is a piece of work. She won’t hesitate to hurt you, even kill you, to get what she wants.”

“What makes you think I have it?” Belle asked.

“That look you just gave him. You two aren’t exactly subtle. Besides, how many people would Gold trust with something like that?”

Belle nodded, acknowledging her point, and leaned back against her seat again, fingering the chain of her necklace as she stretched out her leg carefully.

Hours later, Belle had managed to fall into a light doze. She was woken by Emma shaking her leg.

“We’re about to go over the line.”

Behind her, she could feel Rumple’s tension. She looked over her shoulder and saw the way he was looking at Bae, and knew from his expression that the situation wasn’t good.

“Belle, get ready. As soon as we’re over the line, I’ll transport us to the shop. It’ll be faster. I’ll heal your foot, and then I’ll need your help gathering the ingredients I need for Bae.”

She nodded as they crossed the line and magic enveloped the car.

“Remember, Belle,” Emma said. “You have to–”

The rest of her advice was lost as Belle was swept up in Rumple’s magic and found herself sitting on the edge of the cot in the back room of the pawn shop, Bae stretched out beside her and taking up the rest of the room on the small bed.

Rumple leaned on his cane beside her, bending over Neal who appeared to be in a fitful sleep. Rumple held his hand out over his son’s heart and magic flowed over his entire body. Nodding, Rumple stepped back.

“What did you do?” Belle asked. “Is he healed now?”

“No. It will take a carefully brewed elixir to heal him. I’ve just put him under a preservation spell. It will save him discomfort and halt the progress of the poison. I can’t let it get to his heart. And now, for you.”

Stepping in front of her, he carefully kneeled down to pass his hand over her injured foot without touching. It had swollen even more since she’d last gotten a good look at it, become bloated and grotesque. Magic glowed for a moment, and Belle breathed a sigh of relief as the pain simply disappeared. She set her foot down on the floor, quietly overjoyed that she could move it again without discomfort.

“Thank you,” she said, and started to stand up, but he didn’t move from his kneel in front of her.

“I’m sorry, Belle. Sorry that you had to be in pain for so long.” He cupped her cheek in one hand, his sincerity showing in his eyes.

“It’s over now. I’m fine.” She threaded her fingers into the soft hair over his ears, and kissed him briefly. “And we need to help Bae.”

“Yes.” He levered himself up with the help of his cane, and turned toward the cabinet that held many of his potion-making ingredients and tools. “Belle, if you could take out the burner, and several casks and vials of various sizes.”

She nodded, quickly pulling the requested items from the shelf and clearing a spot on the table to start assembling what he needed. She’d helped him with potions before; she knew how he liked to have the burners set up, that he liked to have the ingredients on the right to reach them easily.

He handed her a thick book, the spine cracked and the pages yellow and brittle looking. “If you could look up dreamshade in there.”

She nodded and opened the book, careful of the binding and the ancient knowledge it contained.

The shop bell rang out, and Rumple didn’t even look up from where he was comparing the ingredients on the table to a list in another book. “We’re closed!”

“Uh, no you’re not. Not when the entire town is under threat from Cora,” Snow White’s voice said. She came through the curtain with David.

Belle only spared her them a glance before going back to her research.

“This doesn’t affect just you,” David said.

Emma came in behind them, flushed and panting. “I’m here. I might have to arrest myself for the way I just drove down Main Street, but I’m here.” She caught sight of Neal on the cot. “What happened? Is he….?” She pushed past her parents to check on him, and Belle saw that Emma had her purse. Emma pressed a hand to Neal’s chest.

“Do you think I’d be standing here, calmly working on a spell, if my son were dead, Miss Swan? It’s a preservation spell, meant to prolong his life till I can make a cure. And right now, all of you are distracting me from finding that cure. Everyone but Belle, get out.”

“No.” David said. “Not till we know where that dagger is, and that Cora can’t get hold of it.”

Belle glanced sideways at Rumple to see if he would answer them, but he was studiously ignoring the intruders in the small room.

“Belle has it,” Emma answered, sure of herself. She tossed Belle’s purse onto the table. “I don’t know where, I’ve already searched her purse and it’s not in there. But she has it.”

“You searched my purse? How dare you?” Distracted from her research, Belle snatched up the leather bag and opened it, looking inside.

Rumple stepped away from the table, his eyes glittering dangerously. “You crossed a line, Miss Swan. You had no right to invade Belle’s privacy like that. Is everything there, Belle?”

“Seems to be.”

“You think I’d steal from you? Look, Belle, I don’t care what shade lipstick you use and I don’t need your cash.” Emma stepped past Rumple, ignoring his glare, and grasped Belle’s wrist lightly. “There are more important things going on here. We need to know that Cora can’t get that dagger. I know you have it, and it’s not safe with you. Cora has magic, you don’t. She won’t hesitate to kill you and take it. Give it back to Gold. At least he can defend himself against her.”

“Rumple. They won’t leave till they see it. Go ahead.” She turned to him, dropping her arms to her side to allow him access.

He gave the Charmings a look full of loathing. “At least turn, so they don’t see you.” He took her shoulders and turned her toward him, putting her back to their small audience, and began to unbutton her blouse with quick, deft movements.

“What the–” Snow sputtered behind Belle. “Are you undressing her?”

“This town is under threat from a powerful magical being, and your response to that is to grope your girlfriend in front of us?” Emma asked, disbelieving.

“I assure you, this is not about groping.” Her blouse halfway open, Rumple dipped a single finger into her cleavage, pulling out the small pendant that hung on the end of a long chain. Belle fought to suppress a shiver at his touch, even though there was nothing remotely romantic or sexy about this situation. The corner of his mouth quirked, and she knew he’d felt her reaction.

Carefully, so as not to catch on her hair, he pulled the necklace over her head and set it aside on the table where they could all see it.

“Is that…a miniature teacup?” David asked, leaning closer to look at it. “Not exactly what we’re looking for, Gold.”

“It’s my talisman,” Belle answered, trying to focus on what she was saying so as not to react as Rumple reached dexterous fingers between her breasts again. “Rumple charmed it for me. Didn’t you wonder how I kept my memories outside Storybrooke?”

“Stand still, now,” Rumple cautioned her, and carefully withdrew a very small—but very sharp—dagger from the front clasp of her bra. He held it out on his palm, over Belle’s shoulder for the others to see.

“That’s…. underwhelming,” Emma said. “I thought you said it was more than a letter opener? That looks considerably less.”

Her back still turned to all but Rumple, Belle began buttoning up her blouse. Standing so close to him, she could hardly miss his look of displeasure. He stepped to her side, to face Emma more fully, and passed his other hand over the miniscule dagger, restoring it to full size.

“More impressed now, Miss Swan?”

“Better.”

“So, you miniaturized the one thing that can control you, and hid it… _inside Belle’s bra_?” Snow asked.

“Yes, Miss Blanchard. I put it in a place that no one but Belle or myself has any business being. And me, only because she grants me that privilege. I assure you, that had anyone else gotten close enough to her to find this in its hiding spot, they would have had greater concerns than the size of my dagger.”

“Oh my God, I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.”

“Nor can I, Miss Swan. My son is unconscious and you lot are preventing me from finding a cure for him. Now leave, so we can get back to work.”

Once again decent, Belle turned around to face the others, knowing that her face was red with embarrassment.

“Fine,” Emma said. “Put your dagger away in a safe place, and I’ll go wait in the front room.”

“I believe I told you to leave.”

“I want to be here when Neal wakes up. I’ll keep watch for Cora for you.”

“Fine,” he finally conceded. He put his dagger into the inside pocket of his suit, and stared at the Charmings, waiting.

“Come on,” David said. “Let’s let them get to work.”

Rumple turned back to the ingredients they’d gathered. “Belle, I need that information on dreamshade, please.”

“Right.” Her skin still tingling from Rumple’s touches, she opened the ancient book again and tried to focus on the task at hand.


End file.
